WE WERE MADE FOR THIS NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 2016 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Message from the Executive Director 2 New York and the Nation 4 Protecting Democracy 8 Defending Justice 12 Fighting the Hate 16 Our Leading Supporters 22 Financial Statement 23 Board of Directors and Staff Listing CREDITS Writer: Rachel Aherin Design: Carrie Chatterson Studio All photos by the NYCLU except the following: images on cover, i, 1, 4, 6 , 12, 15, and 25 by David Moriya/Rogue Photo; artwork on page 9 by Noah Breslau/@applesauce_b. ©2017 NYCLU. All rights reserved. MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 2016 was quite the year. The peaks have been Our members are mobilized. Fired up. Impassioned. high, marked by progress we are proud of and wins from They are part of the active, engaged citizenry at the heart which we can build. And the lows have been stunning, of the resistance movement. They are a loud reminder riddled with setbacks that we face with clear eyes. that in America, the people hold the power. We are proud to stand with them. Donald Trump’s rise to the highest office in our nation poses the most serious threat to our democracy we’ve Together, we will launch an unrelenting defense of the ever seen. Our most fundamental values and freedoms promise of this nation. are at stake like never before. In the following pages, you will see how the NYCLU is But we are resolved to prevent greed and hate from learning from our past to shape our future. We are overshadowing hope. pivoting our core work to confront this historic crisis by pursuing three ambitious initiatives: Protecting 2016 also marked the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Democracy, Defending Justice and Fighting the Hate. 65th anniversary. I take great pride in looking at how far This work will be undertaken alongside a coordinated we have come as an organization and as a state since our network of grassroots organizations and passionate founding. I revel in our strides and successes of the past activists across New York and the country. year: the lawsuit for farmworkers who demand humane working and living conditions, a legal ruling that solitary Taken in total, this is our Trump Resistance Movement. confinement of children is unconstitutional and historic state legislation that provides paid family leave for The NYCLU has never run from a fight. For the past 65 New York workers. years, we have worked tirelessly to advance an inclusive, comprehensive civil liberties agenda in New York. We These gains may seem to pale in comparison to the have fought for the freedom of speech and the First exceptionally divisive national election, to the shocking Amendment. For abortion rights and marriage equality. transfer of power to the Trump regime. On the contrary, For sweeping police reform and equal education it is our sustained progress that gives us strength. opportunities. And we’ve become battle-hardened ensuring immigrant rights and religious tolerance in the state. In the face of Trump’s hateful rhetoric and policies, I know we can make New York a civil liberties model for Today, as we come up against an unprecedented crisis for the nation. A win in New York can push back against the our democracy, we are not intimidated by the challenge. onslaught of reactionary policies. And the NYCLU has We are marching straight into it. brought home those wins for the past 65 years. When I think about this organization’s history, the current Since the election, the NYCLU has grown in record political landscape and our nation’s future, I am buoyed numbers: our membership has more than tripled, by one certainty: demonstrating clearly that people value us as a nonpartisan, stalwart champion of freedom. Together, We were made for this. we will break down the silos that have weakened our movements in the past. Sincerely, Donna Lieberman NYCLU 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 1 NEW YORK AND THE NATION A TRADITION OF NATIONAL IMPACT For the past 65 years, the New York Civil Liberties Union has been dedicated to defending civil liberties and civil rights. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), we are a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nine offices and nearly 200,000 supporters across the state. Our mission is to defend and promote the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution and the New York Constitution. As part of the ACLU’s nationwide network, the NYCLU’s successes resonate on a national stage. A leader in the movement for civil liberties, the NYCLU’s gains mean we hold the line for freedom not just in the Empire State, but also around the nation. Here’s a look at how our statewide strategies have helped influence the nationwide conversation throughout our history. #TAKECTRL Digital Privacy Technology advances at a remarkable speed, and our privacy laws have been left in the dust. The NYCLU is working to protect all New Yorkers’ digital privacy rights. In January, we celebrated the introduction of the New York State Electronic Communication Privacy Act, a bill that will require police to get a warrant before seizing or accessing sensitive information from people’s phones, emails and text messages. Ours was one of 17 simultaneous campaign launches across the nation in a coordinated, bipartisan effort led by the ACLU to demand protections of student privacy, location tracking and personal data. 2 CAMPAIGN FOR SMART JUSTICE Criminal Justice Reform Whether through stop-and-frisk practices that harass hundreds of thousands of law abiding New York City residents or draconian Rockefeller Drug Law sentencing, the excesses of the criminal justice system impact us all, especially low-income communities and communities of color. The NYCLU has had incredible success in bringing accountability and transparency to the system, winning cases that blocked police surveillance of political activities (1985), dismantled the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices (2013) and overhauled the public defense system (2014 and 2017). Our strategies fit into the ACLU’s ongoing nationwide efforts to reform the criminal justice system to ensure fair treatment for all. REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM Abortion and Contraceptive Access The NYCLU is committed to expanding the reproductive rights of all New Yorkers, but especially the most vulnerable: low-income women, women of color and adolescents. We lifted a ban on discussing family planning or dispensing contraceptives at city hospitals (1958). We challenged a state law that limited women’s right to an abortion (1967) and helped push the state legislature to decriminalize abortion (1970) three years before Roe v. Wade. We also won access to abortion for women with low incomes (1991). Keeping New York a safe haven for abortion access is pivotal; our track record of progress has shaped a national conversation, and we continue to push for legislation that will bring our state abortion law in line with the protections of Roe v. Wade. OUT FOR FREEDOM Marriage Equality The NYCLU is a leader in protecting and fighting for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. We were influential in bringing the freedom to marry to every state in the nation—first through aggressive advocacy campaigns that enshrined the right here in New York (2011), and then through our landmark case on behalf of Edie Windsor. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in United States v. Windsor (2013) ignited the national movement’s momentum in taking down all remaining discriminatory laws and constitutional amendments in the states. NYCLU 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 3 WE WERE MADE FOR THIS PROTECTING DEMOCRACY 4 Freedom of speech, the press, association, assembly and petition: these guarantees of the First Amendment form the bedrock of our democracy. Without them, all of our fundamental rights erode. Since our founding, the First Amendment has been the heart of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Beyond written or spoken words, the right to dissent is the right of citizens to organize, to rally, to make themselves heard in order to achieve political and social change. We have the right to do this without fear of impediment or reprisal. But with Donald Trump in the White House—his attacks on critics, his threats against journalists, his embrace of extremist right-wing causes—we are already seeing the warning signs of the unprecedented assault on the First Amendment to come. (Left): Protestors rally in the streets in New York City to show resistance The NYCLU will not against Donald Trump’s federal policies. (Above): An anti-war rally brought hundreds of thousands of protestors to the streets of New York City in 2003, run from this fight. resulting in several clashes between the NYPD and demonstrators. The NYCLU trains legal observers to keep a watchful eye on interactions between law enforcement and protestors to help ensure First Amendment rights are We were made for it. respected during public rallies. When the NYCLU was founded, the McCarthy-era witch We defended demonstrators who were unlawfully arrested hunts were in full force. New Yorkers from all walks of at anti-war rallies during the Vietnam War era and life were targeted—teachers, artists, janitors. The NYCLU again in the wake of the Iraq War, when we also exposed fought back, challenging demands for loyalty oaths and and challenged the NYPD’s pervasive interference with defending New Yorkers’ right to think unpopular thoughts, the public’s right to protest. We pioneered the concept to associate as they pleased and to speak their minds of “symbolic speech,” whether the symbol is a peace free from government recrimination.